Expert on health care hosted at meeting

RANCHO SANTA FE — Find out how the new health insurance overhaul package affects you when North County financial advisor Deana Carter hosts “Health Care 2010: What Happened, What Should Have Happened, What’s Next?” Her featured speaker is Robert Hertzka, a physician and former president of the California Medical Association. Join them for “Coffee and Conversation” from 8 to 9 a.m. April 15 at the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe, 5951 Linea Del Cielo.
Most Americans will be affected by the new health insurance legislation. The health care reform package will extend insurance coverage to an additional 32 million Americans by 2019. It is easily the most far-reaching and controversial health legislation since the introduction of the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
Hertzka, a practicing obstetrical anesthesiologist, has been on the frontline of legislative change in the healthcare industry. Recently, he was elected to the American Medical Association’s Council on Medical Service, a group of eight physicians responsible for developing most of the AMA’s public policy positions on health care access, cost and quality. In 2004, Hertzka served as president of the 35,000-member California Medical Association. He also recently completed a two-year term as the chairman of the American Medical Association’s political action committee.
An adviser to dozens of elected officials of both parties for nearly two decades, Hertzka has been active in policy development and advocacy for a wide variety of issues, including access to health care and improved patient safety.
As part of his longstanding commitment to both politics and health care policy, Hertzka teaches a 40-hour elective course at the UCSD School of Medicine entitled “Introduction to the Politics of Medicine.”
The April 15 presentation on health reform is part of “Coffee and Conversation,” a series of monthly chats on a wide range of topics that affect your economic health. Contact Deana Carter at (858) 756-1566 for more information.